Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Editorials

Museum Association deserves credit

More than once, the Los Gatos Weekly-Times has been critical of the Los Gatos Museum Association. When the town drastically reduced funding to the museum, we felt board members spent way too much time whining about their fate instead of facing up to their responsibilities.

We're happy to report that things are turning around both at Forbes Mill, the history museum, and Tait Avenue, which houses art and natural science exhibits.

An analysis for the six-month period from July to December 1995 shows attendance up by 50 percent at the Tait over the same period the previous year, and a 60 percent rise at Forbes Mill.

What's more, income from last fall's house tour brought in $14,000, twice what the tour earned the previous year.

The secret to the turnaround, says board president Peter Tiernan, is delegating responsibility.

Instead of trying to dream up exhibits and put them together himself as past presidents have done, Tiernan depends on Mary Foster, whom he appointed curator at Forbes Mill, and Ted Glauser, whom he appointed to head the Fine Arts Department at Tait Avenue.

Additionally, volunteer Patricia Dunning has set up a computer system to provide detailed financial reports to the board monthly.

The proof, they say, is in the pudding, so our recommendation is to check out the excellent exhibits at both museums--dramatic black and white photographs of the journey of the Jeremiah O'Brien at Forbes Mill and sculpture by Walter Soellner and photographs by Suzanne and Jim Arnold at the Tait.

Efforts pay off

Million-dollar houses are a dime a dozen in Monte Sereno. An old-fashioned golden Guernsey dairy farm--well, that's something special. Hearing that Kenneth Peake, who has operated the Claravale Dairy Farm on Bicknell Road since 1931, was on the verge of having to sell two of his remaining three acres, city officials and local residents went to work to save this local treasure.

In short order, the Dairy Preservation Committee, chaired by Leo Himmelsbach, raised $7,500, convinced the City Council to match the funds and legally incorporated as the Claravale Preservation Foundation.

By incorporating as a foundation, the volunteer group takes the burden off the city, allowing city officials to support the project, but at arm's length. This should temper criticism that the city had no business in a dairy farm.

With that $15,000, the foundation intends to buy a three-month option to purchase the farm. Happily, Ron Garthwaite, a former geneticist who visited the farm a year ago and decided to stay and learn the ropes of old-fashioned dairy farming, is willing to operate the dairy until a buyer is found.

By its quick and professional response to the potential loss of one of Monte Sereno's historic places, the local citizens who formed the Claravale Preservation Foundation have bought the breathing room necessary to keep the farm going while committee members raise funds and demonstrate the validity of their project.